Samsung Galaxy A52s Review: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Samsung’s Galaxy A52s is a mid-year improve to the Galaxy A52 which was launched in March this yr. The GalaxyA52 has thus far been a good mid-range providing, and stands out due to its IP67 score, which most different telephones within the mid-range do not have. With a beginning worth of Rs. 26,499 for the 6GB RAM variant, the Galaxy A52 nonetheless affords respectable worth though it is not essentially the most fashionable telephone.

Now, with the Galaxy A52s, Samsung has added a few improved options and specs. There is a 120Hz show, 5G, and a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC, which performs higher than the Snapdragon 720G within the A52. Whereas the Galaxy A52s looks as if an total enchancment, its increased worth means it is not a direct alternative to the Galaxy A52 (Review).

Samsung Galaxy A52s worth in India

The Samsung Galaxy A52s, identical to the Galaxy A52, is accessible in two variants however they’re positioned significantly increased. The bottom variant has 6GB of RAM and is priced at Rs. 35,999. The upper-end variant has 8GB of RAM and is priced at Rs. 37,499. Each variants have 128GB of inner storage and can be found in three finishes: Superior Black, Superior White, and Superior Violet. I obtained the 8GB RAM variant in Superior White for this evaluate.

Samsung Galaxy A52s design

The Galaxy A52s is just about an identical to its predecessor when it comes to design. The telephone has a polycarbonate again panel with a plastic body. The body has a smoky chrome end, whereas the again panel has a matte white floor that looks like marble. The matte plastic again panel is nice at rejecting fingerprints and offers the telephone a premium really feel. A design ingredient that stands out is the digicam module, which protrudes barely from the again however contains a comparable end and color. This makes the lens cut-outs stand out, and offers the telephone a really fashionable look.

The Samsung Galaxy A52s has a again panel that’s made from polycarbonate

In contrast to most smartphones on this section, the Galaxy A52s has a 3.5mm headphone jack that’s positioned on the backside subsequent to the USB Kind-C port and the first speaker. The telephone’s earpiece sits in a superb slit between the show glass and the plastic body that protects it. Aside from getting used for calls, it does double obligation as a secondary speaker.

Identical to the Samsung Galaxy A52, the A52s has an IP67 score for mud and water resistance. That is one in every of only some smartphones that provide this premium characteristic, and as per Samsung, the telephone can stand up to submersion as much as 1m in contemporary water for as much as half-hour.

The Galaxy A52s has a 6.5-inch full-HD+ Tremendous AMOLED show with a cutout for the selfie digicam. The show is made from Gorilla Glass 5 and is nice at resisting smudges. The bezels seem a bit thicker than on most smartphones within the sub-Rs. 40,000 section.

Samsung Galaxy A52s specs and software program

The Samsung Galaxy A52s makes use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G SoC. This mid-range processor can also be present in Realme GT Grasp Version and the Moto Edge 20, that are priced ranging from Rs. 25,999 and Rs. 29,999 respectively. This processor is not underpowered in any approach, however the Galaxy A52s might be in contrast in opposition to different sub-Rs. 40,000 smartphones such because the Realme GT and the Xiaomi Mi 11X Professional, that are powered by Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

The Samsung Galaxy A52s has a 3.5mm headphone jack

The Galaxy A52s affords as much as 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s a hybrid dual-SIM tray which may settle for microSD playing cards of as much as 1TB. There’s help for Bluetooth 5, Twin-band Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and the same old set of navigation methods. Whereas the telephone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, there is no such thing as a FM radio app.

Samsung’s One UI 3.1 runs the present on the Galaxy A52s. It is primarily based on Android 11 and options the latest August safety patch. It is closely customised and comes loaded with a number of Samsung-branded in addition to third-party apps. The third-party apps could be uninstalled should you do not want them. Save for the occasional promotional notification from the Galaxy Retailer, these apps didn’t intervene with my software program expertise, which felt fluid and lag-free with common use.

Samsung Galaxy A52s efficiency and battery life

The 6.5-inch Tremendous AMOLED show has a 120Hz refresh fee, which is an improve from the 90Hz panel on the Galaxy A52. The 120Hz refresh fee is beneficial whereas enjoying fast-paced video games, and the Tremendous AMOLED panel with its deep blacks made video content material look fairly immersive, helped by sound from the stereo audio system. The show is nice at rejecting fingerprints and is legible underneath direct daylight. What I did miss with the Galaxy A52s is help for HDR10 whereas streaming video.

The Galaxy A52s’ show doesn’t help HDR10 

The efficiency of the Samsung Galaxy A52s’ Snapdragon 778G is not dangerous, but it surely is not on par with competing smartphones on the identical worth stage. With that stated, the Galaxy A52s achieved an AnTuTu rating of 5,07,534, which is loads decrease than the Realme GT’s rating of 8,02,974. Geekbench noticed an identical distinction, with the Galaxy A52s acquiring scores of 739 (single-core) and a couple of,733 (multi-core), whereas the Realme GT managed 1,138 and three,408 respectively.

Artificial benchmarks apart, the Galaxy A52s’ gaming efficiency wasn’t dangerous. I performed Name of Responsibility: Cellular on the Very Excessive graphics and body fee settings with no noticeable heating points or lag. Contact sampling felt a wee bit sluggish, however I didn’t lose any matches due to it.

What did annoy me was the location of the show’s ambient mild sensor to the left of the hole-punch digicam, which meant that I usually ended up blocking it when holding the gadget horizontally whereas enjoying video games or watching movies. This led to the show dimming itself often when that wasn’t wanted. The plain answer is to flip the telephone round, however I ended up blocking the speaker grille when holding it that approach. Fortunately, Samsung has an answer. For trouble-free gaming, open the Sport Launcher app, faucet on ‘Sport efficiency’, then ‘Block throughout recreation’, after which flip the ‘Auto brightness’ toggle.

The Galaxy A52s has 4 rear cameras

The Samsung Galaxy A52s lasted 15 hours and 43 minutes in our HD video loop battery take a look at, which is not dangerous for a premium smartphone, however is surprisingly decrease than what we bought with the Galaxy A52. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with on a regular basis use because the telephone simply lasted me a day and half with some gaming, pictures, and video streaming. Charging the telephone utilizing the included 15W charger took 1 hour and 37 minutes, which is not dangerous. This could possibly be improved should you use your personal 25W charger, which this telephone will help.

Samsung Galaxy A52s cameras

The Samsung Galaxy A52s has 4 rear cameras. This setup features a 64-megapixel major, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, a 5-megapixel macro, and a 5-megapixel depth digicam. Selfie duties are dealt with by a 32-megapixel entrance digicam. The digicam’s interface is often Samsung, and has all of the vital controls accessible with a single faucet. The digicam modes could be customised as properly. One element to notice is that the ultra-wide-angle digicam solely shoots video at 30fps at each 1080p and 4K resolutions.

Samsung Galaxy A52s daylight digicam samples. High to backside: Shut-up, vast, ultra-wide-angle (Faucet to see full measurement)

The Galaxy A52s turned out to be fairly the performer when taking pictures in daylight. These pictures got here out a bit saturated (which is often Samsung) however sharp and clear with good dynamic vary. Pictures shot indoors additionally got here out clear, however this closely relied on the standard of synthetic lighting; the dearth of which led to lesser element. The first rear digicam shoots sharp portraits with loads of element and good edge detection. The 32-megapixel entrance digicam additionally captures some sharp selfies with glorious element and spectacular edge detection.

Samsung Galaxy A52s selfie digicam samples. High: Auto mode, backside: Portrait (Faucet to see full measurement)

Some pictures taken with the ultra-wide-angle digicam in daylight appeared respectable, however confirmed some purple fringing in brighter areas There was additionally some nasty barrel distortion across the edges of frames, making the pictures seem stretched and blurred. Samsung’s ultra-wide form correction digicam characteristic solely made issues worse. The 5-megapixel macro digicam managed some good close-ups, however particulars have been a bit exaggerated.

Samsung Galaxy A52s low mild digicam samples. High: Auto mode, backside: Night time mode (Faucet to see full measurement)

Pictures shot in low mild confirmed noticeably much less element and sharpness. The Night time mode managed to right most of this however was not very efficient in dimly lit scenes, because it solely managed to brighten the picture with none noticeable acquire in readability or noise discount. I additionally seen a watercolour-like impact in most Night time mode pictures, with flattened textures which is sort of just like what we noticed in our Galaxy A52 evaluate. Low-light selfies got here out with numerous noise, even with the Night time mode.

Video recorded in any respect resolutions confirmed good element in daylight. Nevertheless, solely video recorded at 1080p 30fps had good stabilisation, whereas 1080p 60fps and 4K 30fps clips appeared very shaky. In low mild, the standard dropped fairly drastically with blurred textures and restricted dynamic vary, and stabilisation wasn’t nice both.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A52s is a worthy improve in case you are a fan of the model or are in search of a premium smartphone with an IP score within the sub-Rs. 40,000 section. Nevertheless, relating to worth, the Galaxy A52s’ excessive worth sees it getting sandwiched by telephones that price far much less or supply superior options and efficiency.

Motorola’s Edge 20 relies on the identical processor but additionally has a 108MP digicam, 144Hz refresh fee show, and a brilliant slim physique, all at a lower cost (Rs. 29,999), whereas the Realme GT (Review) affords a Snapdragon 888 processor together with a lot better low-light digicam efficiency at an identical worth (Rs. 37,999). For a couple of thousand Rupees extra, Xiaomi’s Mi 11X Pro (Review) (from Rs. 39,999) has a much bigger show, a 108MP major digicam, and HDR10+ video streaming help, however not an IP score.